Three Million Refugees

The number of displaced people and refugees from the former Yugoslavia is estimated at between two and three million.

According to data submitted to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) by government and non-government organisations until the end of 1994, the population in Bosnia has dropped from 4,370,000 to three million. Between one and 1.4 million are believed to be displaced inside Bosnia.

According to the same source, Serbia and Montenegro have 450,000 refugees, Croatia 187,000, Slovenia 24,000, Macedonia 7,000 - which makes a total of 700,000 refugees in the former Yugoslav republics.

The UNHCR estimates the number of people who fled to Europe at between 500,000 and 700,000, half of which have found refuge in Germany (320,000). Around 86,000 refugees live in Sweden, 79,000 in Austria (the highest refugee-per-inhabitant proportion), 36,000 live in Italy, 28,000 in Denmark, 20,000 in Turkey, 18,000 in Norway, 18,000 in Switzerland and 15,000 in France.

Serb-Owned Apartments Pulled Down in Pirovac

In Pirovac, a small resort town near Sibenik, the authorities have ordered the pulling down of 16 apartments, built by Jozef Hafner and owned by citizens of Serbia, the Ljubljana-based Morel news agency reported.

Some of the apartments had in the past several years been bought by the citizens of Croatia, despite the existing ban on trade with real estate owned by the citizens of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Tremors in Montenegro's Independent News Media

The Association of professional journalists of Montenegro has publicly condemned the dismissal of journalists from the independent Antena M radio in Podgorica. "We must bear in mind," the Alliance said in a statement "that thanks to the group of dismissed journalists, Antena M has gained the reputation of an independent information and political media, on which basis it has won and used a considerable technical and financial aid from international foundations."

The Alliance said the dismissal of journalists violated their management and ownership rights, which they had acquired in years of work in the radio. It also expressed concern that the case would affect the international aid to independent media in Montenegro.

Meanwhile, two journalists - Darko Sukovic and Nebojsa Redzic - exercised the right to be transferred to the weekly Monitor, which operates as part of the same private company. But the board of directors of MontenegroPublic demanded that they be suspended from work and brought before the disciplinary commission. Monitor's staff stood up and threatened to stage a strike, demanding that ownership relations in the paper be precisely defined. A compromise was found and Monitor will appear on news stands. But its staff is explicit that it intends to keep 51% of the shares and leave the rest to the founders.

Black Belt for Premier Djukanovic

Milo Djukanovic, the prime minister of Montenegro, was last Wednesday presented the black belt-third day souvenir at a ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of the judo club Akademik in Niksic. Djukanovic said on the occasion that everything should be done so that "Montenegro stop being a colony from which the others can exploit its highly talented athletes."